Mattress recycling measures moving forward

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Two states have served up good news for the bedding industry on the mattress recycling front in the past two weeks. In Connecticut, the nation's first mattress recycling bill was signed into law by Gov. Dannel Malloy. The bill, supported by the International Sleep Products Assn., resulted from lengthy negotiations between the mattress industry and Connecticut state officials. The new law requires an industry-led nonprofit organization to develop a mattress recycling plan for the state by July 2014. "This is a significant victory for our industry," said Ryan Trainer, ISPA president. "For the past year and a half, ISPA has been focused on legislative options that will improve recycling but not harm our industry. The law requires a sensible, cost-effective approach to mattress recycling that is funded through a small fee collected from consumers at retail." And in Sacramento, California's State Senate approved a mattress recycling bill, backed by ISPA, by a 32-5 bipartisan vote. "We are very pleased the California State Senate recognizes that SB 254 will improve used mattress recycling in the state in a practical and efficient manner," Trainer said. "Since its inception, all stakeholders have been diligently working to craft sound used mattress recycling policy that will benefit consumers, retailers, manufacturers, and the environment. I want to thank the bill's authors, Sens. Loni Hancock and Lou Correa, for their leadership on this issue." The legislation provides Californians with a comprehensive mattress recycling solution that is consumer friendly, cost effective and efficient, ISPA said. The program is similar to existing recycling systems in California and other states for other consumer products. The bill now moves to the California Assembly. SB 254 would create a nonprofit mattress recycling organization that would plan, implement and administer a state system to collect discarded used mattresses, dismantle them and recycle their materials for use in new products. The program will be funded by a fee collected at retail on the sale of new mattresses and box springs, ISPA said. "SB 254 simply puts a nominal fee on used mattresses akin to California's paint recycling program," said Shelly Sullivan, a representative for Californians for Mattress Recycling. "It's good common sense legislation that helps Californians improve their recycling performance."